Entries in Gregory Craig
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On Wednesday his attorney, Gregory Craig, denied Edwards did any lawbreaking while trying to cover up his affair with Rielle Hunter, with whom he now has a three-year-old daughter.

Craig argued that the Justice Department continued to pursue Edwards despite discovering that "not one penny" of campaign funds were involved.

Here’s Craig’s full statement:

"John Edwards has done wrong in his life -- and he knows it better than anyone – but he did not break the law.

"The government’s theory is wrong on the facts and wrong on the law. It is novel and untested. There is no civil or criminal precedent for such a prosecution. The government originally investigated allegations that Senator Edwards’ campaign’s funds were misused but continued its pursuit even after finding that not one penny from the Edwards campaign was involved. The Justice Department has wasted millions of dollars and thousands of hours on a matter more appropriately a topic for the Federal Election Commission to consider, not a criminal court.

"Last night my colleague James Hill reported that the Justice Department green-lighted the prosecution of Edwards for allegedly violating campaign laws and that a source close to the case said the former North Carolina Senator and presidential candidate knows the government intends to seek an indictment."

An indictment could come as early as next week -- unless, of course, Edwards has a change of heart and strikes a deal at the last minute.

ABC News(HILLSBOROUGH, N.C.) -- A prominent campaign watchdog in North Carolina who has closely followed the federal investigation of John Edwards' campaign is strongly criticizing the addition of former Obama White House counsel Gregory Craig to Edwards' legal defense team.

"Gregory Craig's involvement in this case is disturbing," said the watchdog, Joe Sinsheimer. "It raises the question of whether political influence can be bought and sold in Washington, D.C., even in criminal inquiries."

Craig is a high-profile Washington power broker who served as White House counsel during the first year of the Obama administration. He left the post late in 2009 and returned to private practice.

Craig did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment from ABC News, but in an interview Thursday with a North Carolina newspaper he said he has been in discussions with critical "decision makers" at the Department of Justice, advocating on behalf of Edwards.

"Mr. Craig is using the relationships he formed as White House legal counsel to try to manipulate a criminal investigation," he argued. "While Mr. Craig's actions may be technically legal, they violate the spirit of the law, which requires a two-year cooling off period before government officials can seek to influence their old colleagues."

In an interview with National Public Radio, which first reported Craig's hiring, Craig said those "revolving-door" rules apply to only the top three tiers of Justice Department officials. The Edwards' case is being led by the DOJ's Public Integrity Section, and Craig argued that the prohibitions do not apply to the lawyers and assistants there.

For more than two years, a federal grand jury has been hearing evidence in connection with more than $1 million that allegedly was used to support Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, and to hide his affair with her. At its core, the investigation seeks to connect Edwards to those payments and, further, to show that he knew the payments were made with the intention of keeping his presidential campaign viable.

Sources with knowledge of the case have told ABC News that the investigation is complete and a final resolution could come before the end of March.